CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple Inc. unveiled a faster, more powerful iPhone on Tuesday in its first major product event in years without Steve Jobs presiding.

New CEO Tim Cook led the show after Jobs, who has been battling health problems, resigned from the post in August.

Cook, wearing a navy blue button-down shirt and jeans, opened by calling his nearly 14-year tenure at Apple "the privilege of a lifetime."

Those in the audience clapped as he entered, but the reaction seemed more muted than what Jobs had recently received.

Cook said the iPhone 4, which came out in June 2010, sold more quickly than previous models, but Apple has just five per cent of the worldwide handset market.

Apple is hoping to grow that with a new model. The new iPhone 4S has an improved camera with a higher-resolution sensor. The processor is faster, which helps run smoother, more realistic action games. It's also a "world phone," which means that Verizon iPhones will be able to useable overseas, just as AT&T iPhones already are.

The new iPhone also comes with new mobile software, iOS 5, that includes such features as the ability to sync content wirelessly, without having to plug the device to a Mac or Windows machine.

Apple said the new phone will come in black or white. Its U.S. price will be US$199 for a 16 gigabyte-version, US$299 for 32 GB and US$399 for 64 GB -- all with a two-year service contract requirement. It will now be available through Sprint Nextel Corp., besides the existing carriers, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless.

IOS 5 will also be available on Oct. 12 for existing devices -- the iPhone 4 and 3GS, both iPad models and later versions of the iPod Touch.

Apple said Oct. 12 will also mark the launch of its new iCloud service, which will store content such as music, documents, apps and photos on Apple's servers and let people access them wirelessly on numerous devices.

The new iPhone is likely to create more challenges for BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (TSX:RIM), which has lost market share to Apple and Android smartphones phones, especially in the competitive North American landscape.

RIM isn't expected to launch a brand new generation of BlackBerrys until early 2012, which some analysts say may only be catching up to Apple and Android smartphones and not leading the pack.

RIM's new BlackBerry smartphones will have the same operating system as the PlayBook tablet when they're released next year and are expected to be even more like mobile computers.

PC Magazine analyst Sascha Segan said while RIM is still strong among business users, the company has become "irrelevant" in the consumer market.

"Consumer perception of RIM is practically zero at this point," Segan said from Cupertino, Calif..

What draws consumers to the iPhone is the huge number of software applications, said Segan, lead mobile analyst for PC Magazine.

RIM hasn't had the same success with its own app store, opened in 2009. The Waterloo, Ont., company said in July that its BlackBerry App World had more than one billion downloads, a milestone reached after more than two years. By comparison, Apple's App Store said it reached one billion downloads in 2009, nine months after it opened.

Shares in RIM (TSX:RIM) closed up 54 cents at $22.20 Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, Apple on Tuesday also touted the popularity of its products and unveiled a new line of iPods, including a Nano model with a multi-touch display that promises to be easier to navigate.

The event took place in Apple's Town Hall room, where the first iPod was launched a decade ago. Cook said Apple has sold more than 300 million iPods worldwide so far, including 45 million in the 12 months through June.

The iPhone came six years later and has gained millions of fans, thanks to its slick looks, high-resolution screen and intuitive software. There were 39 million iPhones sold in the first six months of this year.

Apple's stock fell $10.08, or 2.7 per cent, to $364.52 in afternoon trading Tuesday.